Britain should “hang its head in shame” over Syrian refugee crisis

Syrian refugees take part in a demonstration at the Zaatari refugee camp, near the border with Syria. Photo: Getty.

As winter settles in, the dangers faced by Syrian refugees will increase – many lack adequate shelter, fuel, food or medicine. Around 2.3 million people have fled the civil war in Syria, most to neighbouring countries. According to UNHCR, 838,000 have fled to Lebanon, 567,000 to Jordan and 540,000 to Turkey – the three countries bearing the greatest refugee burden. These countries are not only struggling with the economic cost of the refugee crisis, but face serious political repercussions too, with fears that sectarian violence is spilling beyond Syria’s borders.

According to an Amnesty International has said that European leaders should “hang their head in shame” at their failure to take in Syrian refugees. Only ten European countries have agreed to host and resettle Syrian refugees – and the UK is not one of them. The most generous is Germany, which has agreed to take 20,000 and the remaining countries are taking on just 2,340 refugees together.

In the UK, some have responded by pointing out that its pledge of £500m of humanitarian aid to Syria is more than all other EU countries combined. According to Oxfam in September, the UK has given 154 per cent of its fair share to Syria (relative to its GDP) so this is something to be proud of. In contrast, France – which has consistently taken a more hawkish stance on Syria – has only given 45 per cent of its fair share.

Britain’s commitment to humanitarian aid is a positive, but this shouldn’t be used as an excuse to close the door to refugees. Perhaps the government, wary of anti-immigration rhetoric, is afraid of how the public might react to several thousand Syrians being resettled here. But the reality is the UK can, and should, absorb and resettle several thousand refugees.

Meanwhile, thousands are dying attempting to make it into Europe anyway. In October 650 migrants and refugees died trying to enter Europe by sea from North Africa. Greece has been pushing Syrian migrants back to sea, and Bulgaria has detained around 5,000. It’s not enough to simply hand over cash to a crisis we pretend is far away, while the victims of war are dying on our doorsteps.